Broom-head



' UNITED STATE PATENT rnrcn.

. v \VILLIAM T. \VATTS, OF COLLINSVILLE, ALABAMA.

BROOM- HEAD.

v SPECIFICATION armin part of Letters Patent No. 589,052, dated August 31, 1897. Application filed anuary 30. 1897. Serial No. 621,327. (No model.) I

To all whom it may concern:-

Be it known that I, WILLIAM T. WATTS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Collinsville, in the county of De Kalb and State of Alabama, have invented a new and useful Broom-Head,of which the following is a specification. My invention relates to broom-heads, and has for its object to provide a simple and efficient device adapted to be applied to brooms for holding the same in shape, said head being provided with a cap or socket to receive the upper extremities of the broom-corn.

Further objects and advantages of this invention will appear in the following descrip-' tion, and the novel features thereof will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective View of a broom-head constructed in accordance with-my invention. Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional. view of the cap or socket and contiguous parts. Fig. 3 is an end view of the head, showing in dotted lines the position of the movable section when elevated. Fig. 4 is a detail view showing the means for securing the movable section in place.

Similar numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures of the drawmgs.

1 designates a handle, to which is attached a cap or socket 2, the latter being provided in its upper end with an opening for the reception of the extremity of the handle.

The bridle, which forms another member of the device for use in connection with the cap or socket, comprises a stationary member 3 and a movable member 4, the former being of looped construction with alined upper portions 5, upturned at their inner ends to form arms 6, which are bent inwardly at their extremities to provide studs 7 to engage the handle. The arms 6 are secured firmly to the handle by means of a wrappingjS, of fine wire or its equivalent. Thealined portions 5 of the permanent member of the bridle constitute journals upon which is mounted the swinging or movable member at, the latter being also of looped construction with its extremities coiled, as shown at 9, toforln alined sleeves, which fit upon the journal portions 5 of the fixed member. These coiled sleeves 'to the lower edges thereof. lower portions of the loops forming the memextend from the side portions of the fixed member 3 inwardly to the upturned arms 6, bearing terminally against said sides and arms and having suflicient axial expansion to hold the sides of the swinging member in their proper positions with relation to the sides of the fixed member. This prevents vibration of the movable member in a direction. parallel with theplane of the broomhead.

The sides of the loops forming the fixed and movable members of the bridle are connected, respectively, by intermediate bearing rods or braces 10, which are located in such positions as tobear, respectively, against the side walls of the cap or socket 2, contiguous Hence when the bers are drawn toward each other sufficient lateral pressure is applied to the side walls of the cap. or. socket to prevent the bulging thereof by the internal pressure produced by the broom-corn. V

The means which I have illustrated in the drawings for holding the lower or free ends of the members of the bridle in their-normal or operative positions consist of retaining links or hooks 11, preferably secured permanently by means of rings to the sides of the fixed member 3 and having their open or hooked extremities engaged with the sides of the movable or swinging member 4, as shown clearly in Figs. 1 and at.

In practice the upper extremities of the broom-corn are inserted in the cap or socket until the head is of the desired size, and, if preferred, this arrangement of the broom-corn may be accomplished before the cap or socket is applied to the handle, said cap or socket being removably fitted upon the lower reduced or tapered extremity of the handle, which, as shown in the drawings, projects to a point at or near the lower edge of the cap or socket when fitted therein. After the broom-corn has been arranged the tapered extremity of the handle maybe passed through the opening in the upper wall of the cap, and then the swinging member of the bridle may be drawn downwardly to the position illustrated in Fig. 1 and secured by means of the hooks 11. Said hooks serve to prevent the ends of the head from being forced out of place, while the lower portions of the loops bear against the sides of the same and hold the latter in the fiat shape, which is preferred in broom-heads.

Various changes in the form, proportion, and the minor details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of this invention.

Having described my invention, what I claim is I 1. The combination of a handle having a tapered extremity, of a cap or socket having in its upper side an opening removably fitted upon the extremity of the handle and adapted 1o inclose the upper ends of broom-corn, a bridle inclosing the cap or socket and comprising a fixed looped member attached to the handle above the cap or socket, a movable looped member mounted upon a transverse portion of the fixed member and adapted to swing outwardly therefrom to facilitate the application and removal of the cap or socket, intermediate bearing rods or braces connecting the sides of the members and bearing upon opposite sides of the cap or socket and means for securing the free end of the movable member in its normal or operative position, and the bearing-rods in engagement with the cap, substantially as specified.

2. The combination with a handle, of a bridle comprising a fixed member of looped construction having its sides extended inwardly to form alined journal portions terminally secured to the handle, a movable member of looped construction having its sides extended to form alined coiled sleeves 9, which are axially expansible and bear terminally against the sides of the fixed member and the contiguous surfaces of the handle, and means for connecting the sides of the members to seeu re the movable member in its operative position, substantially as specified.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM Tl. WATTS.

Witnesses.

GEO. W. KEENER, D. M. Ronnvson. 

